The GOP could learn something from the gays – stop worrying about what my vagina is doing.

HELEN:

Margaret, religion isn’t the only thing that shouldn’t get into bed with politics…just ask Nancy Brinker. It certainly doesn’t erase all the good work and noble intentions that went into Komen, but Nancy should never have hired that idiot Republican, Karen Handel, in the first place. You didn’t need to call references to know what you were getting with that one for geeminy sakes. I hope those angry old men over at the GOP are paying attention. If women didn’t allow breast cancer to defund Planned Parenthood, we’re sure as hell not going to let John Boehner & Company get away with it.

If Planned Parenthood is so bad, how come millions of women choose them for healthcare? Who do you think a woman should consult with about her healthcare? A doctor or a politician? And who should make the decision about ending a pregnancy – the woman who realizes now is not the time to bring a child into the world or Rick Perry who humiliates and traps women into having an unwanted child and then denies those same women and children healthcare and a decent education after the delivery? I declare, let’s move on already. This war on women has done nothing but get in the way of good people who are just trying to do the best that they can with what life gives them.

Honestly, I am asking all those Republicans out there who read my little web page blog to once and for all stand up and answer me honestly: Regardless of whether you think abortion is right or wrong, do you really want your government taking away that choice from a woman? I’ll bet dollars to donuts that, other than a few misogynistic nut cases, most Americans really think this is a personal and private decision to be made between a woman, her family and her doctor. It’s not about being pro-life or pro-choice. It’s about being open-minded enough to realize that God’s answer to you might be different from the answer he gives to me. If Republicans want to win more elections, they need to take a lesson from the gays and just leave my vagina alone.

To the Republican Party, I say: You can’t have it both ways… unless you’re Mitt Romney. Either you want a smaller government or you don’t. So will that be one lump or two with your cup of tea? You bunch of asshats. I mean it. Really.

MARGARET:

Helen, finally we completely agree on something. Let’s move on and get politics back to what it is supposed to be about – death, taxes and sex scandals.

Responses

Margaret, women are Republican’s private property! This is why they want to govern over our bodies. We are their private incubators. I was told one of the reasons Repubs dont want to allow women the right to choose is that there are no available babies for adoption here in the USA, as if older children are ‘not suitable’ you see? Just when I thought they couldnt stoop any lower.

Romney’s church does want to control your vagina. If you are not able to have any children, you will be of no use to the Mormon male who takes you to his planet and spends eternity having intercourse with you and his other wives, procreating “spirits” to be born on your Mormon husband’s planet.
When this world ends, the Mormon men who have been “sealed” to multiple wives will ‘raise their veils (Mormon women are buried with a veil over their faces and the only way they can get out of the grave is to have that veil lifted by their husband) and then divide up the women that are left over. Weird, scarry and they actually believe it, so they think it is their business to worry about your vagina.
Also, if you “kill a baby” now, it won’t have a chance to “work out its salvation” and will spend eternity in a lesser heaven, unless it is female and then it will be taken by one of the “Mormon gods” to spend eternity in popping out more “spirit children.”
The Mormon church is against Komen or any other group or program that might make a woman unable to have a child because they will then we worthless in the afterlife.

Are you willing to pay for that child from conception through college. There are many, many reasons why women are in positions when they are unable to bring a child into the world. Women aren’t the only one in the equation yet they have the brunt of the responsibility. The men often walk away. There are too many unwanted children in the world already. So don’t say put the child up for adoption. That is not the end all and be all of an answer. It might work well for a healthy white baby, but if there is anything wrong with the child or if the child is a child of color, it often goes straight into the system, and your tax dollars end up paying for it anyway! And what about women and girls who are pregnant as the result of incest and rape? Would you insist they go full term with their baby? Why put them through that misery? So don’t give me your sad sob story of making you pay your hard earned money for an abortion you don’t believe in until you tell me you are ready to take in and raise those children you don’t want abort the healthy and the sick, the white and the children of color.

uaw has been around here for a long time. Underneath that rough exterior is a pretty good guy. Yes, he is who he is…….but he is ours. If you go after him he is going to come back at you. You’d be wise to scroll by his comments. Now that other one who comes here…THAT is a whole different story.

Somewhere around here are Helen’s rules for the blog. It is not necessary to stay on the topic she posts.

uaw – I don’t think it would be considered a felony. Huntsman Sr. hold a high position in the LDS church and is privilaged to certain information. Since Jr. was treated so badly it may just be called pay back time.

If it wasn’t a Huntsman it was McCain, and once McCain saw Romney’s tax returns he chose PALIN. Those must have been some returns. I cannot wait to see what cartoon you pick next to answer any discussion that involves more than two sentences.

Thanks for the support, JCL. I love reading Margaret & Helen’s posts and most of the comments. That’s why I come here.
Gato doesn’t deserve vitriol because she is kind enough to welcome someone to this site.
Thank you to all who stand up to the bullies that post here.

Iris, I agree with you. Actually, whether someone agrees with the blogger or not, why come here just to insult and belittle? Isn’t that something a junior high kid would do? Seriously, I don’t agree with everything Margaret and Helen say, but this is THEIR “home” and if someone wants to come into their home and be disrespectful, they should stay away. Disagreeing is fine, but resorting to belittling comments and name calling is juvenile. Simply juvenile.

I have to wonder at the mindset of a fifty something person who resorts to insults because he has nothing to say. Why does he continue to visit a site where he doesn’t agree with the blog writers or the commentators? What a sad little life.
Don’t bother to look for something for me, I don’t click on any of your links or videos. Not that that will stop you…I suppose the fervid hope someone might keeps you going.

Yay! Love this guy… Thanks so much for sharing the link. Right onto my “Favorites”… And welcome aboard.
We do tend to digress from topic now and then, but the minute Margaret and Helen post again, we’ll all be right back in there with them on whatever they have to say.
Gato

I still question how you are going to verify a ten year old had an abortion due to being raped by her uncle. Have you heard of HIPPA laws? The only reason it would be in mainstream, subject to verification, is if the parents made a complaint and the DA filed charges. As the doctor reportedly said, she was deliberately vague about details of her patients SO THEY COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED.
What is your schtick with this? Why are you insisting that a ten year old’s privacy be invaded? There is no question the doctor was denied license renewal. There is no question a 10 year old had an abortion according to the doctor’s files. There is no question the doctor is being persecuted for performing legal medical procedures. Is that story not appalling enough for you? I have a suggestion: just leave it alone and do not post it on your FB page. Problem solved.

Not meaning to sound ghoulish. I just want to make sure I have the facts straight and am not passing along “urban legend” like so much of the stuff my aquaintences blindly pass along as fact without checking it out.

I sent the link to factcheck.org to have it verified. If this is true, it’s offensive on too many levels to count.

You’ve actually got it backwards…whenever we have to rely on government for anything, then government has inserted itself into (whatever). I think you might also want to consider adding a person (or two) to your formula, shouldn’t the decision to abort be up to the doctor, (the father), woman, and most inportant of all, the baby, that is going to lose it’s life?

A little more concrete? Sounds ghoulish to me, Dawn. You can independently verify the doctor was denied a renewal of her license. You have to have details verified by a news source, as well? I sincerely hope you never find them. I sincerely hope no news agency is going to report on a 10 year old being raped by her uncle and had an abortion. We all saw what happened to the 11 year old in Texas who was gang raped last year. The NYT focussed on how she was dressed and how teh menz who raped her would now have their lives ruined. What goes on in your head, you think a news agency should have reported that so you can feel comfortable posting on your FB page? It’s not enough for you the doctor was denied a renewal of her license because the misnamed “Operation Rescue” filed charges she wasn’t having her patients, who ranged in age from 10-17, have counseling or go to the hospital after the abortion? Then, don’t post on your FB page, who the hell cares?

I get that some people think Obama hasn’t done enough while in office. I wish he had been able to do more, but what didn’t get done certainly wasn’t for his lack of trying, in my humble opinion. Every time I ask a conservative what they expect will be better if Romney is elected, all they do is bash Obama. I recently asked on Facebook if someone would tell me how Romney can have off-shore bank accounts, pay less than 14 percent in income taxes, and still manage to convince people that he gives a crap about this country. I’m still waiting for an answer. I will let you know if I ever get an answer. I’m not trying to be argumentative. I simply want to know. It sticks in my craw when things don’t compute.

I couldn’t independently verify the account of the 10 year old mentally disabled girl from Kansas who had been raped and impregnated by her uncle. All I’ve been able to find are blog posts. Anyone have anything a little more concrete before I post something balistic on my FB page?

Hey, Whirled – and I’ve gotta say you’ve picked one of the greatest blog names in the Universe. Well done.
I have to wonder what the point is in being “anonymous” if you’ve really got some things to say. We’re all “anonymous” here, in a sense, and that’s probably an okay thing. But at least most of us have chosen a name by which we can recognize each other, in this electronic world we’ve all chosen to join from time to time.
I have, as I’m sure everyone who posts here has, a real non-internet name. I live in a real place. We have mountains, trees, rocks, gardens, caterpillars, piles of junk on my desk, local people running for the US Senate, woodchucks eating everything I’ve planted, and plenty of interest in what’s going to happen in the next bunch of months to our country. I have relatives, neighbors, grandchildren, a husband, friends, opinions, and a life. I treasure them all.

And look at Margaret and Helen! They’re not afraid to say who they are, and where they live, and what they think. And they’re not afraid to let anyone know any of that. Aren’t they great?

Hey Bev, how is facts about your Messiah’s health care deception trolling? Answer, it isn’t. It is just beyond your pretty little head to understand or respond too. Go bake something. The best intellectuals that this blog could come up with had a total contribution of “yawn.” Priceless.

No, Noah–It means that nobody hear gives a crap about what you say. When the tiresome troll who has yet to voice an original thought appears again, it provokes the yawns that you have seen. Sorry you are so insecure that you have to take people ignoring you as a sign that you somehow “bested” them.

“How can we be better at catching, prosecuting and fining crooks like Rick Scott who are convicted of Medicare fraud?”

I think most people want to know their money is being well spent. I read of a doctor who bilked Medicare out of several billion in false claims. And doctors who performed questionable heart surgery on patients just to boost hospital profits. But how to stop greedy people???? More/Better oversight and proscute to the fullest would help. Some make enough money that it is worth the risk and a fine is just the cost of doing business. Rick Scott still got elected governor; and is still screwing the tax payer with his drug testing of welfare applicants. I am for taking their license, house, investments, first born and right ..….well I’ll leave there.

OT – but does any one know why flies will do every thing possible to get inside your house and then spend the day crawling on the windows trying to find a way out????

Noted no one had the ability to refute the Ryan video on Obamacare. What this means is you know you were lied to and you don’t care. This means you have one set of standards for your Messiah, and another for everyone else. Leftist manifesto 101.

@Cynthia:
While I agree Ryan’s plan would end up costing the seniors and the taxpayers more for health coverage, I’d like to see some hard numbers from the campaign. It seems obvious that paying a surcharge of 15-20% to pay for the profits of insurance companies will not help keep down the cost of coverage/care. It also seems obvious that paying lots of people to handle the same claim in health insurance companies would be more expensive. I read somewhere that in Canada their payment paperwork is handled by an average of 2 people, in the US, under private insurance it’s many, many more. Is this true? Can we learn from other countries that are doing socialized health care inexpensively? How can we be better at catching, prosecuting and fining crooks like Rick Scott who are convicted of Medicare fraud? To me those are the real issues. I confess to being a fiscal conservative, but not a fake one like R&R and their ilk.

…”If the Democrats can’t make Ryan’s views on Medicare and Social Security an issue in the campaign, if they allow Republicans to falsely claim that they are trying to save these critical programs rather than cutting them as much as they can get away with, they deserve to lose.”

My thoughts exactly! Republicans are for smaller government unless, of course it has to do with individual liberties. Translate: “Let us keep all of our money while we ensure our morally-self-righteous ideals are the law of the land.” And, btw, “Let’s keep children uneducated (because it takes too much of “our” money to hire and keep quality teachers). We’ll send ours to private schools.” Jeeshhh…..I do worry about the future of the electorate.

About all that “‘voter fraud” . . .
Very recently there has been a partisan push for restrictive voter identification laws. This movement was originally directed at alleged hordes of illegal immigrants showing up on election day to cast a ballot with false ID, who according to the New York University School of Law weren’t going to materialize any way due to the risk of deportation. Instead, the new voter identification laws are falling on eligible voters such as a 90 year old veteran and countless others with consistently honest voting records using county issued voter registration cards. There are 10 states who insist illegal voting is a problem; Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, all of whom are insisting on specific government issued photo identification. Such ID is to be provided free for nothing – supposedly.
This effort originally aimed at illegal immigrants is instead impacting eligible voters by making it hard to obtain a photo ID in the 10 states mentioned above. Just how hard is it to fulfill this requirement?
Ten million eligible voters live more than ten miles from the nearest state ID issuing office. Of the 10 million, 1.2 million are eligible African American voters and half a million are eligible Hispanic voters. These groups are less likely to have photo IDS than the rest of the population with drivers licenses. Nearly half a million eligible voters either do not have their own transportation or have very little to no public transportation such as in rural areas.
Moreover, many ID issuing offices maintain very odd limited hours. Example: the office in Sauk City, Wisconsin is open only on the fifth Wednesday of each month. Only four months this year have five Wednesdays – February, May, August and October. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas have more part-time (open only for a few hours on certain days) ID issuing offices in rural areas with the highest concentrations of people of color and people in poverty.
Poverty certainly plays a part here. Copies of birth certificates and marriage licenses required for women since their birth certificate uses the maiden name can cost anywhere from $8 to $20. Some of you may recall that the infamous poll tax outlawed in the civil rights era cost $10.64 in today’s money.
As for fraudulent voters, the same school named in the first paragraph has studied this issue and discovered that there is a better chance of a lightening strike than the crush of voter fraud partisans insist exist. A case in point: a voter was found to have voted twice on election day, once in his own state of residence and again in another state. There are in fact more and more instances of eligible voters being turned away from the polls due to mistakes on official voting records, redistricting and even fraudulent information on not only where to vote but when.
The hardships that have landed on a huge segment of eligible voters is completely at odds with our most basic national values and all just to originally prevent a “horde” of illegal immigrant voters.

I wanted you to know that I have chosen you for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. You can see the details about your nomination on my blog One Woman’s Logic. If you accept the award please note there are rules. ~Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post. ~Share 7 interesting things about yourself. ~Nominate 7 bloggers you admire. ~Leave a comment on each of the blog’s letting them know they have been nominated.

I am so with you on that, Cynthia. My state has vote by mail only. Not only are there paper ballots, but we get about 2 weeks to peruse the ballots. Voting over morning coffee is definitely the way to go. No lines, no driving, no showing ID. For those who don’t care to pay the return postage, there are dedicated drops set up or one can drop them off at the county elections office.

@Cynthia: You’re right on here. I don’t think there’s actually been much voter “fraud”, but the new requirement of photo IDs, which so many people must now obtain in many states, and for which they must pay a fee, and the closing down of extra poll hours, are certainly going to “discourage” a lot of voters who work long hours, or seniors who no longer have a driver’s license, among many others.
The other big issue is redistricting, which the Republicans have been working for ceaselessly, and relatively under the radar.
I find myself often so focused on the Big Picture, i.e. the Presidential election, that I have to remind myself that sometimes working local can also be incredibly important.
And those “outsourced” voting machines…? Nice, huh? Let’s remember those “hanging chads”!
Got the snarky part. Do that myself a lot.

I believe if Romney wins it will be in part because of voter disinfrancement and election fraud. We need a movement to bring back paper ballots and counting by hand. Or something better than private electronic machines and copywrited software that can be rigged and can not be detected by poll watchers. There is no reason why we need to know immediately who is the next president. We do have time before he/she takes office.

@Cynthia, and all the recent posters: NO, NO! Don’t give up. That’s what the deluge of money and lies is intended to make us do. That’s what they’re counting on happening. They don’t have to win; they will win only if we let them. Believe me, I speak sternly to myself about this many times every single day. And I don’t always listen to myself, either.
We have the strength, and the commitment; don’t give it up.

Here is the voter fraud the GOP is soooo concerned about. Well actually most of it is election fraud. But I guess it is okay since it is not ACORN or those Democrats doing it. Romney it seems is also guilty of voter fraud….but that’s okay too…he’s rich.

jsriii – I too am of the same eraand if R&R have their way we will be right back in the same situation.Frightening isn’t it? I have a horror story of my great grandmother hemoraging todeath, with only my 12 yearold grandmother to take care of her and also younger siblings. Those of us wh through the 30’s can really appreciate this. BTW Hoover was President until 1932. Remember how long it tooook Rooseveldt too get the country back on track?

There is no doubt in my mind R&R will start WWIII if elected. Their announcement in front of a battleship said it all too clearly. Willard has already started beating the war drums by insulting the Palestinians. Russia & China will not be our allies.

@jrsi:
Truth. The thought of R&R raping & pillaging our country for themselves and their backers is a horrific thought. Will we let them?

Ladies
Here’s a viewpoint from a crotchety male who is an age cohort of Helen & Margaret. And I’ll start with a little history.
I was born a year before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and my pre-teen years were during the Great Depression. The manufacturing town where we lived was hard hit and one of my fondest memories was my seventh birthday, coming home from school seeing our furniture dumped on the front lawn while the bank took possession of our house. But more intriguing to me was the haunted house several blocks away below the train tracks that operated clandestinely as the town’s abortion mill. They even had a parking lot in back for the Fords and Chevys that frequented the place. When we learned that women often died from visiting the haunted house my childhood friends and I always walked quietly by on the opposite side of the street.
This was also an era when obits in the papers rarely gave reasons for death but instead left the reader to figure it out. A “long illness” was usually cancer, a “sudden collapse” meant a heart attack, a “hemorrhage” often followed an accident but a “massive hemorrhage” was the product of an illegal abortion. One neighbor died of a “massive hemorrhage” but the subject was never discussed in front of us kids. She left several kids but since there were no social “safety nets” she was obviously not in favor of adding another child to the hungry ones she already had at home. She paid the ultimate price.
However, the birthing hospital in the center of town catered to a different clientele and had a thriving business offering D & C procedures for ladies having “women’s problems”. Of course the care here tended to attract Cadillacs and Packards at least until a few bankers and businessmen died of hemorrhages after jumping out of fourth floor windows.
If the Rethugs get elected and their sponsors get their “job-producing” tax relief, while at the same time trashing Social Security, the Affordable Care Act and all other social safety nets, I could almost guarantee a return to those halcyon days of the great depression. The idea is positively chilling.

Me, too, Skyler. Helen & Margaret: We’re all waiting with bated breath – although I can certainly understand that it might take a sentient human being a bit of time to wrap her head around the sheer ARROGANCE of this “selection”. Jeez; they don’t even TRY to be subtle or clever. There can now, even more, be hardly any doubt about who owns Mittens, and whom he intends to “serve”. Wisconsin/Koch Brothers/Ryan/Ayn Rand/Megabucks – a real cesspool of retro Robber Baron collaboration… They seem to think they even have to bother trying to “convince” anyone about anything; they’ll just keep throwing money at it all, as they do at everything they want. Sadly, I’m sure their experience has given them good cause to think that will continue to be a successful plan.
And, as for Romney’s little “gaffe” in his introduction of his running mate this morning (Gaffe #1,634 if I were counting)… I could just laugh that off, except that I had this awful vision of Romney’s sitting in the Oval Office, during some actual world crisis, and saying, “Oh; I didn’t mean to hit the RED button,” followed by a smiling, “I’m known to make the occasional mistake…”
SCARY!
In the meantime, if you haven’t seen it already, you might enjoy Charlie Pierce’s post this morning on his blog. Charlie doesn’t hold back…
And we shouldn’t, either!

I look forward to Helen’s take on Paul Ryan. A gun lover and someone with no experience in foreign policy. What a joke! I really thought Rob-Me would pull a fast one and find some woman to run with him , to try to convince the American people he doesn’t REALLY want to take woman’s rights back to the 18th century, but maybe none were stupid enough to fall for it.

Behind you 100% Helen !!!! Why is it always MEN who are so interested in women’s reproductive issues. I say line up Boehner and the rest of the idiots and cut off their tally wackers………that would put an end to the entire discussion.

And Lord have Mercy, Paul Ryan……..really? What fools. The 17 angry old white men have started their puppeteering for sure. They demanded the Idiot palin in 2008 and their new tool is Ryan.

The head of GE (one of the 17) said that he didn’t care who the Repub presidential candidate was as long as they could manipulate him. Look it up !!!!

Who knew Eddie Munster would grow up to be so creepy? A lot of speculation this announcement is to take the pressure off Willard to release his income taxes. Do Republicans really think this is a winning combo? Who exactly is Ryan’s fan base? Fans of Ayn Rand novels? Do they want to do away with Medicare & SS so they won’t be tempted to indulge like their hero did in real life? She must have been laughing, chain-smoking all the way to the bank.

The 10 year was raped by her uncle and is mentally impaired, and the charges against the doctor are for not subjecting the child to pre-abortion counseling. These people in Kansas are out of their minds. Imagine subjecting a 10 year old to “counseling” and/or forced birth. It is torture. What could these “adults” possibly be thinking?

Anon besides being too stupid to post in the correct thread you are also too stupid to do research. The majority of PP money comes from burth control purchases (the pill) and the second largest pot is private donations. Abortions are less than 3% of their business. If you have to lie to make your case, maybe you should change your case. Maybe PP isn’t the devil after all . Maybe the devil is the guy who lied to you.

Great Post Ladies!! The Doctor who got his license denied had better find him a lawyer and sue big time. A 10 YEAR OLD RAPE VICTIM SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO AN ABORTION!!! For that little girl to be forced to carry her rapists baby to full term is torture. The people on that panel need to be named in the lawsuit an held personally financially liable for their stupidity.

As for those Americans who will be without health insurance coverage at any point in the future, remember that the 1% doesn’t do mortgages, payment plans or health care coverage. It all comes out of their piggy bank. And then there is that percentage of Americans at any time who swear they are 100% healthy, always have been and always will be. A further percentage will base their non-coverage on religious reasons.

And the Kansas medical review board will never ever believe that if they were to force a 10 year old child to bear a child that they would be post facto accomplices in the rape of that started it all, but hell, it works only if they have ears to hear and something cognitive between them ears.

Brava! One doesn’t need to be a proctologist to see Republicans for what they are on this subject. Lest I remind our friends across the aisle: Republican women get abortions and/or go to Planned Parenthood too.

Hi Gato:
Yes, the current line of attack is going after the doctors. That “Operation Rescue” – a misnomer if there ever was one – was linked to the murderer of Dr. Tiller. And, it is no doubt because some find the thought of women having bodily autonomy frightening. The best part of these attacks is that most of us women have been shaken out of our complacency. It is painfully obvious we need to demand our rights loudly and clearly. We will not go back to the days of back alleys and being shackled by our reproductive system.

Hi, Iris,
That is truly an appalling story, in my opinion. Sounds more like a “Morality Review Board” than a “Medical Review Board”. And these same people are probably outraged – and blogging – about the potential imposition of Sharia law here, even as they are making decisions that would probably be absolutely in line with that program.
My ONLY consoling thought, when I hear of something like this, is that somehow we women are evidently very threatening to some, and potentially dangerous… Even when all we want to do is spread compassion, understanding, and acceptance.
Odd, isn’t it…?

A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report says that under the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, 30 million non-elderly Americans will remain without health insurance in 2022.

One of the main arguments the Obama administration made for passing the Affordable Care Act was that it would provide coverage for the uninsured.

Currently, accoriding to CBO, there are 53 million uninsured persons in the United States, including uninsured illegal aliens. The CBO estimates that in 2022–8 years after the Affordable Care Act has been fully implemented–30 million people will remain uninsured.

Moreover, under Obamacare, 8 percent of legal U.S. residents will remain without health insurance in 2022, according to CBO

@Gato:
Oh yes. There are several on here that post for no discernable reason other than to be an annoyance. I’m happy to listen to opposing viewpoints and have a lively debate. I get quickly bored when the posting is an exclusive ideology written by those only interested in “winning” or resorting to name calling. Honestly, if the opposing argument is F U – what sort of dialog can be accomplished? Trolls will be trolls. Best to ignore them if possible.

Agreed here, too…
Does anyone else ever think that some people blog just to be an annoyance, with no intention of adding anything of substance – or interest –to the dialogue…?
(Be prepared for the “freedom of speech” and “quashing dissent” replies.)

Anonymous: Rush is full of crap. He lies all the time. And is lying on this one. You need to get your “news” from a reliable source. If abortions or welfare is your concern then why in the hell would anyone oppose Planned parenthood? They supply poor woman and men birth control – so they are reducing the number of abortions as well as the number on welfare. It never made sense to me that the one way to stop abortions/welfare is with birth control and yet never once have I heard anyone on the right suggest it!

UAW
What you misinterpret as hate speech is the truth but most readers already know that your mind is twisted into knots. If anyone wants to see hate speech, track back to some of UAW’s earlier comments.
On second thought, don’t bother. He’s too much like pounding on an empty drum, all noise, no substance.

Sevensplash, Women pay for their own abortions or they are funded by private donations. Federal tax money is not allowed to be allocated toward abortions and there constant audits to assure this. Taxpayer $$$ does help fund other healthcare at Planned Parenthood. SO that when PP are forced to close, much needed healthcare is now put out of the reach of many women.

In FACT, seven PP’s are constantly audited by the government to prove they are not using federal funds for abortion. In Texas that audit is really more like constant harassment but PP remains open so I guess they comply. If the federal government determines pap smears cost $10 to provide, then when they give PP $100, PP has to prove they provided 10 pap smears. Women pay for abortions and if they can’t afford PP funds donors to help.

“…most Americans really think this is a personal and private decision to be made between a woman, her family and her doctor. It’s not about being pro-life or pro-choice. It’s about being open-minded enough to realize that God’s answer to you might be different from the answer he gives to me.”

This is my favorite quote from you, Helen, and it sums up exactly how I feel.

Hello, JCL,
What a refreshing post – calm, intelligent, and reasoned. You certainly join Margaret and Helen in the “Great Ladies” category, in my opinion.
BTW, if you’re just now menopausal, you’ve got a long way to go to get to “old”! We just get better from there on. Trust me on this one.
It IS called “Men; oh, Pause”! I think that’s what we’re all saying – and what so many of us are insisting be heard.
Gato

My dear Helen, as a Republican woman (if I have to be categorized, I lean more toward the conservative than the liberal, so I’ll call myself a Republican — I hate labels) I am both pro-choice and anti letting the government take my choice away. Whether or not I would choose to have a child or an abortion is immaterial. As it happens, thanks to reliable birth control (at times from Planned Parenthood), I’ve never had to make that choice. Now I’m old and menopausal, and it’s a moot point.

So, there you have it — the answer to your question, at least from ONE Republican.

::sigh:: I see that far too many people do not yet understand or know about the Hyde Amendment. No government funds go for abortion, period. Not even in military hospitals when a female servicemember is impregnated by rape at the hands of her male colleague.

PP *clients* pay for their abortions. Government funds go for other things like prenatal visits, PAP smears, etc. Educate yourselves, for crying out loud.

I agree with you ladies. What I’d like to know is what the tea hadists tell their constituents when asked what they have done about jobs – that’s nothing, help for people loosing their homes- nothing again. In fact all the moron republicans have done is block or attempt to block ALL that the democrats have been trying to do. Then the sob republicans lie, lie, lie. They seem to have forgotten that they outsourced manufacturing jobs and Bush pushed the deficit to the point it is now and left President Obama to fix his huge mess. Romney and his empty promises have all been tried and have failed dismally. In fact the real welfare queens in this country are Ronmey and his obscenely rich cronies. They take all that this country offers without paying anything close to their fair share of taxes. Then they turn their hate on women, minorities, anyone not rich white and their brand of Christian. In fact they aren’t Christian at all. After all, is not the duty of a Christian to help those less fortunate? Guess republicans never heard of that.

It is my decision, not Rick Perry’s or any other politicians. This is between me, the father and my physician. No one else. As a general rule, I am pro-life except for one huge caveat – the government should not be involved in this very private decision. Period.

Neither should someone else’s religion dictate my action. If a sin, it is between me and God, not your beliefs and my action.

sevensplash: Abortions at Planned Parenthood are funded by the client. By federal law, no federal funds can be used to fund abortions and in addition, many of the private donations received by Planned Parenthood are also limited in scope of what they can be used for and exclude abortions. On the other hand, some donations are specifically given to fund abortions for low income women. Planned Parenthood does quite a bit to prevent unwanted pregnancy (and thus abortions) in addition to being the only resource available for other women’s health concerns.

That is such a good question: Do Republican women REALLY want the government to take away a woman’s right to choose if she wants to carry a baby to term? I would be TERRIBLY interested in seeing staunchly conservative, deeply Christian women respond to that question. While I am no longer a Christian, I do struggle to be respectful of others’ religious practice. However, the woman who really does see the “good” in this Republican notion that to allow women accessible birth control and the right to end an pregnancy is to be somehow a-moral completely confuse me. I want to hear what they have to say simply because I don’t think they are crazy, brainwashed women. They are something…that I can not figure out. The most diplomatic adjectives I can think of are: impractical and naive?

I disagree with every war that has been fought by this country in my lifetime, from Vietnam forward. Nobody’s asking whether the government has the right to prosecute wars in my name. Why all the right wing worry about a few government dollars funding Planned Parenthood’s excellent work on behalf of women’s health?

Your taxpayer $$$ DO NOT fund abortions at planned parenthood. They do however fund cancer screenings and other very important healthcare for women who would otherwise be unable to afford this vital care!

Hey Beth Why don’t democrats, leftists and homosexuals support bigamy and polygamy? If you don’t want two husbands don’t marry two men. If you don’t want six wives don’t marry six women. If you don’t beleive in public education don’t send your kids there and don’t pay for it. OOOOPS. We are FORCED to pay for public education even if we don’t send our kids there. It is the left that does the FORCING of their beliefs through the power of Government all the time. Because you are so steeped that your causes are just, you are unable to see your own hypocrisy.

Conservatives were not attempting to “shut down” Planned Parenthood. They merely said they should no longer be funded by taxpayers who disagree with them. The left constantly uses the FORCE of the Sate to compel others to financially support their causes. When someone disagrees with their cause(s) they are then pounced upon as a hater or some other vile term. It is not enough to have abortion legal; the left demands that taxpayers must fund the abortions as well. The left says “stay out of my bedroom” with their hands firmly in my pockets.

I couldn’t agree more. I am so tired of people telling me that it is about free speech. I respect everyone’s right to free speech. But when corporations or people use tier money to limit the rights of others (to marry whomever they want, to have good access to birth control or abortions, etc.) that is no longer speech it is wrong. I don’t care what SCOTUS says, it is not right. Don’t force your beliefs on me and I won’t force mine on you. Like someone already said, if you don’t want an abortion, don’t have one. If you don’t believe in gay marriage, don’t marry some someone of the same sex! If you don’t believe in birth control don’t use it! But don’t limit others rights to do those things. Only when this country truly lives in this manner will it be the “land of the free and the home of the brave”.

I could never see what politics had to do with Breast Cancer, Abortions or any of the decisions that has to be made and should be made by a woman herself. Why they feel the need to insert themself into a woman’s personal life has always baffled me. Mitt Romney doesn’t know what he stands for,it just depends on who he is talking to at the moment……women do not need that man nor the Republican Party policies telling them that they know better than they do about their own bodies. Well written Helen……

Oh, sigh… The Komen Foundation IS “for the cure of breast cancer”. They were going to withdraw their funds from Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screening program – until a wildfire of outrage convinced them to change their position. Planned Parenthood is, in many cases, the only place available for women to get screened. Try to see if you can figure out the connection here…

Silly me- I thought “small government” meant that they wouldn’t get all up in our bidnesz! But what they really mean by “small government” is : small enough to fit in our classrooms, small enough to fit in our hospital rooms, small enough to fit in our bedrooms, and now small enough to fit in our vaginas! The incredible shrinking GOPs! Where will they go next?

Thank you lovely ladies! If you don’t want or need to partake of their services, fine. Just don’t take it away from those who need it. Let us decide when it is necessary! It’s not rocket science. What is it about common sense they don’t understand? Their are quite a few up on that dais who’s mother could have used this service. I mean it!

If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one. If you don’t believe in same sex marriage, don’t marry someone of your same sex. Why do Repubs feel they can tell other people what to do? It really is none of their business. Seems to me they have enough of their own problems to worry about!

The door swings both ways. Even if you are anti-abortion, if you give up your rights the gov’t will be forcing you to have one with one act of Congress. Like if your healthcare plan won’t pay for delivery and care of a compromised child for example. I would like to keep my right to choose so they can’t make me have one. They already took away my rights with the rights of the fetus at conception scheme.

Most people don’t realize that, in many communities Planned Parenthood is the only women’s healthcare available. (It’s active in Connecticut, but Connecticut is known for supporting healthcare in general and feminine care in particular.)

Just incidentally, a patient who requests a vasectomy can get it through Planned Parenthood. I don’t imagine there are many Republican men who use that service.

Wonderful, as usual! I especially love “… God’s answer to you might be different than the answer he gives to me.” Anyone who can’t accept that truth has, in my opinion, more than a little arrogance – a big enough “sin” in and of itself. I have a hard enough time knowing what the Universe wants ME to do, let alone what some ELSE should!

I used Planned Parenthood when I was a poor student. They give great health care. What is it with these ignorant people who think such a great health provider should be shut down? The vast majority of these ignorants have never even used PP. They need to sit down and be quiet.

WTG Helen …. I am so proud and relieved we women stood up and were counted when the Susan Komen foundation thought it would be a good idea to take access to women’s health care away. Anddddd I am proud of you for keeping the issue of women’s rights front and center! A big hell yeah! Xo

When GOP members talk about “big government”, why is it that they always forget defense spending? Seems like we spend more on war than everything else combined sometimes. Want to downsize government? Why don’t we start with the armed forces?

As usual, great column, ladies. And after looking at Ms Komen’s picture, I’d say a lot of the SGK funds went into her face lift. If she was drawn any tighter, her chin would be up near her forehead! All that cash and didn’t have the brains to go to a good plastics guy!